Curling – why it is the next best sport

That title seems a bit haughty, I know. But I will try to convince you why. I am not here to explain to you the magnificent rules that make this almighty sport… well, magnificent; you can just Google it and that’s it. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t find me in the stands to freeze my butt off and watch a game of curling. I’d much rather sit on my couch with a hot chocolate enjoying the never-ending thrill of guessing what the next move will be.

Here is a list of reasons why curling will never cease to amaze me, and why it should never cease to amaze you.

It actually requires thinking.

Yeah, that’s right. This might be the only sport where you actually have to think about what you’re doing. And no, I do not count playing chess as a sport. Unlike other sports, you don’t have to be crazy fit or athletic to play, or even be good at it. Obviously, you have to know how to sweep the ice, but other than that it is important that you know the right tactic and see through the game.

It has a storyline.

You know how you turn on the TV, tune in on a football game halfway, look at the score and know where you’re at? That’s not how it works with curling. You can’t just tune in and understand it all, you’ll need some time to get into the game. And no, that’s not a bad thing. It means it has a storyline. If football would be a soap opera, curling is like an art house film.

The athletes wear mics.

Seriously, can you think of anything cooler? At the Olympic Games, curling is the only sport where the athletes wear microphones (this has something to do with number one of course). That way you can listen to what the players are discussing and what their next move will be. Also, it will help you understand the sport better – you may even find yourself a curling expert after watching a few matches.

You cannot explain the rules in one minute.

This might be the best part. Most people don’t like the sport because they think it’s boring, but that’s just because they don’t know the rules. Obviously, if you have to sit through a 45 minute game of some people strolling down the ice with a brush in their hand, it might be a bit soporific – especially if you don’t understand the goal of the game. But once you figure those rules out (and you can, trust me; it’s not that complicated) it can be pretty exciting. Don’t say curling is boring just because you’ve never had someone in your life explaining the rules to you. That will bring me to my next and final point:

If you really watch the game, you can’t get bored.

Yup, there – I said it! I trust you, if you put the time in it and scroll through its Wikipedia page, the next time you see a game of curling, it will be anything but boring!